how to collect ornamental fish?

[thorsen]

I keep reading about the legal collecting of ornamental fish (they had a great post from some guy in New York who collects tons of fish, but for some reason it was removed?) in places like Hawaii. It sounds like something I would like to do, but I was wondering how does a person catch these fish. Are there special nets to order? Is there a certain technique? I was also wondering if this can be done in CA. The person who was collecting fish in New York claimed during certain months fish from the Caribbean swam up the eastern coastline and were then doomed to die when the temperature dropped as the season changed. He had all kinds of pictures of incredible tropical fish. If such fish could be collected off Long Island, surely some great fish could be collected off of the southern CA coast line, though I doubt collecting fish would be legal in CA. I may be heading to Hawaii soon though, and my question is how does a person go about catching ornamental fish?

 

[agilis]

collecting

collecting

Specialized nets are used for collecting. The best are hand made, though some crude models are sold commercially. In essence, the standard collecting net is a tube made from flexible clear vinyl, the stuff used to cover cushions, etc. The net bottom is plastic window screening. The net should be quite long in relation to the opening. Mine are about 7 inches in diameter, and more than 20 inches deep. The cheap commeral models are not deep enough, and are held together with thread. A good net is cemented with urethane.

The idea is to corner the fish, block off escape routes as much as possible, and try to scare the fish into swimming into the net, which is then squeezed shut near the entrance. Trying to scoop up fish as in an aquarium is extremely difficult unless a barrier net is employed. There are also slurp guns, and other methods. Some commercial collectors use drugs, but this is extremely harmful. There is a some information in print.

Here on the East Coast the north- running Gulf Stream carries larval fish hundreds of miles to colder areas where they may live for a while in summer and early fall. Southern California currents run the reverse, from north to south, so the ocean there is much colder, and there is no natural transport of tropical juveniles.

There are some "ornamentals" that stray as far north as San Diego, but rarely. Some california fish, like the Garibaldi, are considered aquarium fish, but they need cooler temps, and I think collecting them is illegal in California. To collect tropicals, aquarists out on the Left Coast have to head south, into Mexico.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

In many cases you also need a license or permit & certain restrictions are in place